Pradel Association - Fauré, Debussy, Chausson, Massenet, Poulenc, Ravel & Bachelet - 08/07/26

Gabriel Fauré: Élégie, Opus 24 

Gabriel Fauré: Nell 

Gabriel Fauré: Clair de lune 

Gabriel Fauré: Mandoline 

Gabriel Fauré (adapted by Frédéric Chaslin): Après un rêve, avec violoncelle

Claude Debussy: Nuit d’étoiles 

Claude Debussy: Beau soir 

Claude Debussy: Romance 

Ernest Chausson: Le colibri 

Jules Massenet (adapted by Frédéric Chaslin): Élégie, avec violoncelle 

Francis Poulenc: Les chemins de l’amour 

Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello 

Maurice Ravel: Asie from Shéhérazade 

Alfred Bachelet: Chère nuit 

Julie Cherrier-Hoffmann: Soprano 

Frédéric Chaslin: Piano 

Saskia Lethiec: Violon 

David Louwerse: Cello 

After an almost week-long break in La France Profonde—In my case, the insanely bucolic Puy de Dôme region—during which I did not do much more than indulge in eating, drinking, family bonding and sleeping, all in delightfully cooler temperatures, I was back in Dieulefit last Monday, at which point my mom made sure to remind of the flea market, the arts and crafts festival, and the three concerts that were lined up for the rest of the week. 

The first concert, which was organized by the relentless Pradel association, would take place on Friday evening in Le Poët-Laval’s Centre Yvon Morin, a wonderful local art gallery that includes a cool performance space. Getting there is not for the faint of heart or the mobility challenged, but the intimate size, the tasteful décor, the friendly atmosphere and the decent acoustics more than make up for the trouble of walking down (and later, up) the treacherous stone steps of the famously beautiful hilltop village. 

So, that’s where my mom and I were on Friday evening, for a promising program dedicated to a wide range of French music, from a boldly complex instrumental trio to some of the most irresistible classical French songs. The musicians included familiar faces and confirmed virtuosos such as violinist Saskia Lethiec and cellist David Louwerse, as well as new names such as soprano Julie Cherrier-Hoffman and pianist (and conductor, composer and, in this case, host) Frédéric Chaslin. We were in all likelihood in good hands. 

After an excessively early arrival (My mom being constantly paranoid about parking and open seating), a subsequent long wait, and a late opening of the center, the relatively small—but, as Pradel Association’s president Pascaline Dallemagne herself pointed out, high-quality—crowd was ready. 

First of all though, the right atmosphere had to be set. Enter Frédéric Chaslin and David Louwerse, who masterfully kicked off the concert with Gabriel Fauré’s exquisitely melancholic “Élégie” (Elegy), Opus 24. The rest of the first half of the carefully curated program was filled with songs by not only Gabriel Fauré, but also Claude Debussy, Ernest Chausson, Jules Massenet and Francis Poulenc, a sterling group of 19th- and 20th-century French composers indeed. French soprano Julie Cherrier-Hoffmann proved to a thoroughly engaging singer, who cleverly leveraged her highly nuanced voice and her rock-solid technique to vivaciously express the agonizing pains, and occasionally the invigorating joys, of love. 

Unsurprisingly, the biggest hits were two compositions that had been recently adapted by Chaslin so that they would include the cello (When you are lucky enough to have David Louwerse around, it is hard to refrain from putting him to work). Therefore, we had the privilege to attend the ultra-exclusive world premières of these new versions of Fauré’s “Après un rêve” (After a Dream) and Massenet’s “Élégie” (Elegy), in which the gorgeous darkness of the cello brilliantly accompanied the emotionally charged singing while the steady piano was reliably keeping everything under control. There is no doubt that the composers would have been pleased. 

After the intermission, Dieulefit-Le Poët-Laval regular Saskia Lethiec finally joined the party for Maurice Ravel’s superb Piano Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello, the one he wrote in a mad rush before enlisting to go fight in World War I (Never mind that due to his short stature, he reluctantly ended up making himself useful as a volunteer truck driver instead of going to the front). The three instrumentalists delivered a perfectly balanced, deeply committed performance of the richly textured, vividly colorful piece. Even the restless toddler and frisky dog that were sporadically running around could not break the magic spell we were all under. 

After such virtuosic fireworks, we had to briefly regroup in order to be able to reconnect with the more ephemeral pleasure of the last two numbers on the program: Maurice Ravel’s exotic “Asie” (Asia) from his Shéhérazade song cycle, whose increasing intensity was powerfully mesmerizing, and Alfred Bachelet’s opulent “Chère nuit” (Dear Night) whose lush melody leisurely unfolded in a dreamy haze. 

 It was getting late, but we were not done yet. As a party favor, the four musicians got together for a totally improvised and highly entertaining version of Erik Satie’s sensual waltz “Je te veux” (I Want You), which concluded our evening in Le Poët-Laval on a totally uplifting note. One down. Two more to go.